Refrigerator construction



Jul 20, 1937. 4

REFRIGERATOR conswnucnon Filed Dec. 2, 195a INVENTOR. 67y] 5%.

-. w. ELLIS 2,087,641"

ATTORNEY.

terior of the cabinet, With this construction" Patented July 20, 1931f 2,0 8'l,641 acrmcnaa roa CONSTRUCTION William Herbert Ellis, Newburgli, Indg assigno r to Servel, Ino., New York, N.- Y., a-corporation of Delaware Application December-Q, 1933, Serial Nam-15 4 Claims.

This invention relates to refrigerator construe-V tion, and more-particularly to cabinet wall construction and the provision of a wall having im proved heat insulating qualities.

In the manufacture of refrigerator cabinets of the household type it is customary to wrap indi- 1 vidual slabs of insulating material in waterproof paper or the like, after which the individual slabs' are placed in position between the liner of the refrigerator and the outer casing, in order to" prevent heat flow from the exterior into the increvices are left between the individually wrapped slabs through which crevices a breathing action may occurbetween' the outside air and a layer of air surrounding the liner, which therefore greatly reduces the eflqciency of the insulation. It is an object of the invention to overcome the aforementioned obstacles and provide an insulation-in which slab insulation can be used with crevices between the joints eliminated, and at the a same time, the cost of-production materiall y reduced by elimination of labor in separately wrapping the slabs of insulating material.

This invention consists essentially in covering the liner of the cabinet with a paper envelope shaped to. fit the liner, then applyingthe slabs of insulation and suitably fastening such slabs lnjplace, after which an outer enclosing envelope of paper or the like is applied and the adjoining edges of the inner and outer envelopes are sealed together.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein 'Fig'. 1 is a vertical section through a refrigerator cabinet illustrating one application of the invention;.- v

Fig. 2, a horizontal section on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3, a fragmentary sectionon line 3-3 of ;Fig.1; and

Figs. 4 and 5, fragmentary details. l Referring to the-drawing, a refrigerator cabinet is formed of an outer casing or shell 10 and 1 an inner casing or liner ll, between which are disposed slabs of insulation 12. The slabs I2 arejused on account of convenience in handling and it is customary to" wrap the slabs in waterproofed paper or the like to prevent breathing or air circulation, and consequent heat conduction through the slabs. The cabinet is provided with a front frame I! to which both the outer casing l0 and the liner II are attached. In order to simplify the coninsulating value, the slabs l2- about the liner ll all in accordance with the present invention are encased in a' single wrapping or sheeting. This sheeting comprises an inner envelope l4 and an outerenvelope l5, both of which are of waterproof construction, and through which air cannot pass.

in position about the liner, and thereafter the insulating slabs are all placed in position in a manner to'snugly enclose the liner except at the front and at the liner opening IS in the-rearwall of the liner. The insulation and inner envelopeare secured in place and tightly in engagementwith' the liner by means of straps or bands of -metal,-|| and I8, the bands ll beingvertically applied and the straps l8 being horizontally applied, and sjervingto bind the assembly to the front frame, the straps 'l'l merely serving to bind the insulation and inner envelope to the liner. This constructionof securing the-insulation to the'liner is similar'to that shown in Patent No. 1,878,111 granted-Sept'20, 1932,- to W.-D. Collins. While the use of bands l1 and i8 of metalor the like has been described for securing theinsulation in position, the invention is not so limit ed and contemplates the used any desired fastening means for accomplishing the same or equivalent result. I About the slabs of insulation heldby the straps I1 and I8 to the-liner. is placed an outer-envelope of paper or other material preferably treated to render the same impervious to the passage of both air and water. The inner envelope has'its front. marginal portion turned outwardly so that it is in contact at its edge with the-outer envelope; and these contacting edges are 'fastened together by cementing or the like to form anannular, tight -joint between the inner and outer coverings forthe insulation. f 1

: In the type of cabinet illustrated tife cooling unit is removably inserted through the rear of the liner into the compartment to be cooled within. the interionoftheliner. It is therefore neces-.- sary to seal the inner and outer nvelopesaround this opening,' and in order to accomplish this result. these envelopes-are slit in-a manner shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the envelope of Fig. 4 being pro- I vided with 'a' vertical central'slit l9 and 'atthe 4 eirtremiti'es of the vertical-slit with two horizontal slits 20. The other envelope-is, reverselyv Slit, that is, with'a horizontal central slit 2| and with vertical slits 22 at the-ends of the horizontal slit. The thus formed 'flaps are then folded along the Em O FIC struction, reduce thelabor cost,,and increase the In assembling, the inner envelope is first placed 1 10' dotted lines indicated'in these figures, and such four flaps formed in the two envelopes bridge,

It will be apparentto those skilled in the art that various other'changes may be madein the constructionand arrangement without departing from the spirit of the invention, and therefore the invention is not limited 'to that which is described in the specification and shown in'the drawing, but only as indicated in the appended claims.

Whatis claimed is: 1. Refrigerator cabinet construction comprising an inner casing, insulation about said inner casing, said inner casing and insulation being providedwith an opening affording-a passage into theinner casing, a sealed envelope enclosing.

said insulation and slit longitudinally and transversely of said opening and forming flaps, said flaps being projected through the opening in said insulation to the opposite side of the same to line said opening and being sealed about the opening.

2. A refrigerator cabinet comprising a frontsupporting frame, aninner liner defining a food compartment secured to said frame, an outershell forming a casing for said liner and spaced from the latter to provide an insulating space therebetween, an" inner envelope substantially completely encasing the liner, individual slabs of insulation disposed substantially throughout said insulation space, an outer envelope overlying said slabs and connected in substantially airtight relation to the inner envelope and together with the latter completely encasing said slabs,

\ said envelopes being comprised of relatively thin flexible material of low heat conductivity.

3. A refrigerator cabinet comprising a front supporting frame, an inner liner defining a food compartment secured to said frame, an' outer shell forming a casing for said liner and spaced from the latter to provide an insulating space therebetween, an inner envelope substantially- '-completely encasing the liner, individual slabs of insulation disposed substantially throughout said insulation space, an outer envelope overlying said slabs and having its free edges connected in substantially air-tight relation to the free edges of the inner envelope and together with the latter completely encasing said'slabs and covering the joints therebetween to prevent breathing or passage of air.v transversely of the insulation, said envelopes being comprised of relatively thin flexible material of low heat conductivity such as waterproofed paper or the like.-

4. A refrigerator cabinet comprising a front supporting frame, an inner liner defining a food compartment secured to said frame, an outer shell forming a casing for said liner and spaced from the latter to provide an insulating space the'febetween, an inner envelope substantially completely encasing the liner, individual slabs of insulation disposed substantially throughout said insulation space, means holding the insulation slabs in place and the liner and frame together, and an outer envelope overlying said slabs and holding means, said envelopes being comprised of relatively thin flexible water-proof material of low heat conductivity and having their marginal edge portions joined in air-tight relation at the front of the cabinet.

WILLIAM HERBERT-ELLIS. 

